


Kakarot, My Kakarot

by Tarvok



Series: Beloved Kakarot [1]
Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Character Study, Divorce, Erotica, Established Relationship, Family Secrets, Fluff, M/M, Slice of Life, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-27
Updated: 2017-06-12
Packaged: 2018-04-11 11:25:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4433693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarvok/pseuds/Tarvok
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nearing the eve of an approaching threat, our heroes take some time to themselves to unwind... and with unexpected results.</p><p>This is a story about redemption and family, and one Saiyan's connection to the past.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Kakarot, My Kakarot.

By Tarvok

Rated: R for sexual content, M/M, character study, POV Vegeta.

 

The sun is shining, and the breeze is gently whispering through the trees. On the grassy loam next to me you are lying with a sleepy smile on your face, your arm casually thrown over my belly, and weighing me down. 

It is a wondrous day, truly it is. That it took so long to arrive at this point brings a sadness in my spirit. However, I have vowed to enjoy what we have to the fullest I am able to while you are willing.

I quietly listen as you mumble something unintelligible and roll toward me. I cannot resist the feeling, so I begin gently combing my fingers through your unruly, slightly damp, dark hair. 

“Kakarot, my Kakarot. What shall I ever do with you, hmm?” I whisper, allowing a smile to grace my lips as you wake and reach out to me. I take your warm, dry hand in mine.

“'Geta?” Such a delicious, breathy sound. I lean forward and kiss you soundly on the mouth, the feel of your endless strength now tangled in my own hair. 

“Nnn...” You deepen the kiss, as you always do, and I am nothing but pleased as you lead me down and cover my body with your own. My legs spread almost of their own accord, easy as the action has become, and you settle your weight heavily between my thighs.

“I was trying to sleep, you know.” You speak with a stern tone, but there is no indication of penalty on my part that must be atoned. I rock my hips and you moan, thrusting down into the hollow of my hips. “Vegeta...” I feel your hardness as a stark reminder of my position. My heart beat quickens in anticipation.

“Yes, Kakarot?” I whisper without hesitation. This was not always so. There was a time I would have fought you, and though I would have lost, you would have never taken your earning. You would rather win this with gentleness; something I am inept at.

“Lift your hips, I want...” I oblige easily enough, for you have never been anything but gentle with me. A relieved sigh escapes my lips and my eyes slide closed as I feel your arousal slowly breach and slide home. I am wet from our earlier couplings, and your way is eased.

There is tingling along my spine as you pull out and then return. I am trembling now, exhausted and restless from our earlier love making. You retreat, ceasing your actions to watch me, then your arms are around me holding me close, your breath hot on my throat, your whispers hushed in my ear, my thighs tightening around your hips. 

Such strength flowing into me from where we are fused. It is a heady sensation and I am left reeling.

“Ka... Kakarot...” I fail to catch my breath, the friction is too much, too exquisite. My fingers lose their grip on your arms, and you place my hands above my head, exposing me. It is as you prefer and I do not fuss. 

“Yes?” I feel your smile against my neck where it meets my shoulder, coupled with a sharp, deep thrust. A rather undignified gasp eases its way past my closed lips as you caress my weeping erection with your perfect fingers, thumb pressing against the tip with a bruising pressure as you know I like.

“Ehnnn...” I moan low in my throat, pleasure coursing through my veins. My body tightens, muscles contracting as I climax between our bodies and into your awaiting hand. I feel my seed pool in the space between our joined forms as my inner muscles milk the sweet, hot liquid from your sex into my hungry, prone form. You sigh and hold my chin with your clean hand, and thrust your tongue past my swollen lips. I go willingly into the dance of hungry mouths, while you lead. 

You always pour your passion into your kisses, granting me feelings I do surely not deserve, but receive greedily and hungrily. There is nothing more than this, not to me. To receive this luxurious gift from you into my being, that is what I yearn for with a terrifying intensity. 

As I grasp onto the slick flesh of your shoulders, I let go of my worry of the nearing threat. You continue to deeply take your pleasure, your appetite for this as much the same as your appetite for other things. I know I will be filled up with your claim to overfilling soon, my own need for this rare passivity... yes, only in this, sated for now. 

I am as willingly yours, Kakarot, as you are mine.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another that took a long time, but nowhere near as long as that last one. Dayum. I'm super stoked he's speaking.

_Several months earlier..._

 

“Vegeta?” Kakarot is beneath the tree I am currently lounging in. He has been looking for me all day. I know it, because the woman told me. Am I avoiding him? Maybe. A lot has happened since we were last together. He has done the thing I made him promise me he would not do; leave his wife.

That is not what I wanted. I wanted him to remain with his family, as I would with mine. Apparently, he had another idea.

“Vegeta? I know you're out here. Bulma said you were. Are we playing hide and seek?”

“No, Kakarot.” He always gets excited at the prospect of that game. I swear there are too many moments where I truly wonder what goes on in that head of his. “I'm thinking.”

“About what? And where are you!”

“Fine.” I drop out of the tree above him. “That better?”

“Yep!” Strong arms wrap around me, and I fight my first instinct to push him away. Instead, I concentrate on relaxing and remind myself that this is right. This is okay. Unfortunately, I am too late in doing so.

“Are you okay? Do you need me to back off? I can...”

“I am fine, Kakarot. Just not used to... whatever this is.” I make a sort of gesture, and give in as he tightens his hold and places whispering kisses to my neck and bare shoulder. I shudder as his hands lower and I can feel him smile against my warm skin.

“I knew that'd do it.” That ridiculous grin of his. So happy over nothing at all. “Can I kiss you, Vegeta?”

“I thought that's what you were already doing.” I run my fingers through the thick fur covering his scalp.

“No, a real kiss. Not one of these little puppy ones.” He shakes his head, and I put the hair that falls over one of his eyes back into its proper place. He smiles and catches my bare hand in his own.

“You're so pretty, Vegeta.” I get a kiss to the back of that hand.

“Why do you keep saying that? Men are not 'pretty,' Kakarot.” I shake my head at his usual silliness.

“Then you're beautiful.” Kakarot kisses my knuckles, one by one. I turn my palm up and he kisses that, too. I feel a slight warmth in my chest.

“You still didn't say it.” The words are muffled against my hand, as there is another kiss.

“Say what?” I am transfixed by the sight and feel of Kakarot's lips on my skin. He gives me two more quick kisses to my now itchy palm.

“That I could kiss you. May I kiss you, Vegeta?” That damn voice of his. How does he sound like a petulant child one moment and then like something dark and secret the next?

“Have I ever denied you it?” I smirk.

“No, but...”

“What?”

“I don't want to push.”

I close my eyes and rest my forehead on his chest. His hands come to rest at the back of my neck, messaging gently. I moan and latch onto his infernal orange gi with my own hands.

“There _are_ some things that are not 'pushing,' Kakarot.”

“But it's a fine line between those and what is.”

I can hear the frown in his voice, and I sigh. “I know.” I look up at him. “Kiss me, Kakarot.” I imagine he can feel my smile as his lips connect with mine, but I do not care.

“Mmm. Thanks, Vegeta.” He pulls away from me and steps back. “Do you wanna go back to thinking, or...?”

“Or?”

“I dunno.” Kakarot spins in place, laughing. When he turns back to me a while later, the look on his face confuses me. He is smiling, but his eyes are wet.

“Kakarot?”

He shakes his head. “It's nothing. Just a rough couple days.” He wipes at his eyes and plasters what I believe is a fake smile on his otherwise decent face.

“You ever have times where you feel too many things at once?”

“Sometimes.” More than I will ever admit.

“That's what's wrong with me today. I'm really happy, but really angry and sad, too.”

I walk toward him and it is my turn to take his hand in my own and kiss the tension away from the knuckles.

“Why are you angry and sad?”

“My grandpa.” At my confused look, he continues. “Chi-chi. She said my grandpa wouldn't be proud of me for what I've done. Like she even knew him, or anything about him. And I'm always sad when I think of him.”

I reach up and press an index finger against the furrow in his brow to smooth it away. “Why did you leave her, Kakarot? It was against my wishes.”

“How could you expect me to stay with somebody I don't even love?” He steps back and gestures wildly. “I don't even know why she's so mad at me! I gave her everything, and none of it was ever good enough. She was always screaming at me to leave! You'd think that once I left her for good, she'd be fucking grateful!” He turns back to me. “And you! How could think I'd rather go home to her when you're...” His eyes close tightly.

“When I'm what?”

He hesitates. “You get me.” The answer is barely above a whisper. “Even when you're mad at me, you understand. Nobody else even tries to.” He reaches toward me once more and I dodge his attempt at touch.

“You misunderstand what that means, Kakarot. We are _Saiyans._ It is simply our shared blood that makes it easier.”

“No!” He catches me by my arms and drags me toward him. “I'm not misunderstanding! The only other person with Saiyan blood that I can relate to at all is Goten, but... he isn't like you.” When I attempt to shrug off his grip, he relents and lets me back away. “Sorry.” Kakarot tucks his hands under his arms. “I didn't mean...”

“I am not fragile. I think I can handle a little roughness.” I scoff and cross my arms.

“You shouldn't have to is all I meant. Not from me, and not when we aren't sparring.”

“Whatever. So you have next to nothing in common with anybody. Make your point, Kakarot.” I make a dismissive gesture.

He grabs at his hair and pulls on it. “Why are you so dense, sometimes? You're the smartest, most amazing person I know, Vegeta, and you can't even tell when someone's in love with you? Argh!” He throws his arms up in frustration and his ki jumps.

“Are you... serious?”

“Yes, I'm serious! Vegeta... you... you mean _everything_ to me, okay? I'm... sorry it came out that way. I wanted it to be better than this. You deserve better than this! Dammit.” He puts his hands over his face to hide his blush, and groans into his palms as he returns his ki to normal.

I approach him. “Kakarot?”

“What?” His voice is still muffled by his hands.

“Look at me.” I get him to nervously meet my eye. “You really are serious?”

“Yeah. I think you're pretty amazing. And well, beautiful, yeah.” Now he is smiling again.

I shake my head at the fluidity of his emotions. “I do not think that I will ever understand you as much as you believe I do, Kakarot, but... all right.” I reach up and touch his cheekbone with the back of my hand. “I will not make any promises, and I cannot say that I feel the same...”

“It's okay.” Kakarot smiles sadly. “Don't worry about it, Vegeta, I'm okay with just whatever... whatever you're comfortable with. So it's okay.”

I smirk. “Okay.”

This time there is nothing to fight as he envelopes me in his strong, warm arms.


	3. Chapter 3

I watch as Kakarot naps sprawled on a lawn chair from my place by the far wall of the inner courtyard of the Capsule Corp. building. I can see my wife, Bulma, not much farther away, sipping on a lemonade and going over the schematics of something or other. His youngest is also here, as is usual, doing who-knows-what with my eldest. I have no idea where my youngest is. Probably at the movies or at the mall with her friends. I was not listening when she told me. I just handed off the money before she left.

Kakarot rolls over and I notice the wrinkles in his clothing, and the dirt on the hem of his gi. I realise that he is here now because he most likely has nowhere else to be.

I will right this. “Bulma.” 

She does not look up. “Mm, yeah, Vegeta?” 

“Is the guest room available?”

“I think so. I doubt Mom's having anyone over until next week. Why?” She looks up and in the effort to put her pencil behind her ear, misses, causing it to drop loudly on the glass table. Kakarot stirs and opens his eyes. “Ack. Dammit. Sorry, Goku.”

“Nah, ish okay...” He squints at the brightness of the mid-morning sunlight as he looks around. His eyes fall upon my form, and he smiles and gives me a little wave. “Hey, 'Geta.”

I nod in his direction and turn back to the woman. “I believe Kakarot requires a place to stay.”

Bulma leans forward in her seat. “Goku, what happened?”

Kakarot laughs uncomfortably. “Well, Chi-chi kicked me out.”

“Ugh. Of course she did. Just give it a few days and she'll cool off. In the meantime, you can stay as long as you want.” She stops and thinks for a moment. “I honestly can't stand my mother's friends, so you'd be doing me a favor.” Then she goes back to her work, and everything is quiet again for several minutes.

Kakarot slowly sits up. I can see him struggling with what he is about to say. He clears his throat, and speaks with a serious expression. “I left her, Bulma. I told her I wanted a divorce.”

“Oh, wow.” This time she not only sets everything down, she also pushes it away. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I guess. She's got my grandpa's house, plus the one I built, and all my things, but I don't need all that.”

Now I clear my throat. “You can't let her take everything from you, Kakarot.”

“I'm not.” Kakarot shakes his head and shrugs. “I just need to figure out what I'm doing first.” 

Bulma sighs. “Well, as I said, you can stay here for now. I'll deal with Chi-chi, and with getting you a lawyer. Don't worry about it, Goku.” She picks up her things and heads inside. “Just let me make a few calls.”

After she is inside, he laughs quietly. “Well, that went better than I thought.”

“Don't be ridiculous, Kakarot. That woman loves you.” I step away from the wall and he moves to give me room to sit near his knees. I do. My stamina has been flagging the past few days. I decide to up my training regimen after a short break once I sit down and notice the sudden relief I feel.

“We _have_ known each other a really long time.” He stretches back and closes his eyes. I can feel him rest the back of his hand against my hip. “This is nice.”

I scoff. “Only because I'm sitting here. I know how awful these chairs are.”

“Yeah,” he grins. “I wasn't gonna say anything, but I think I can't actually get up. Like, ow.” He rubs at his right shoulder. 

We sit in silence for some time, and my daughter finally arrives home.

“Hey, Dad. Hey, Goku. What's up?” She looks so much like her mother, yet dresses like me these days. I keep waiting for her to ask to train, but nothing yet.

Kakarot sits up and smiles. “Hey, Kiddo. Nothing much. I'm just contemplating how to get out of this chair, and your dad's trapped me in.” The ease with which they speak has always surprised me. Trunks does not get along with Kakarot, never has. I fear that is my fault. Too late now.

While they are talking about the movie she saw with her friends, Bulma returns with a telephone in her hand. “Goku? You want the house and all your stuff, plus custody, or...?”

“Wha-?” He scratches his head.

I answer. “Yes, woman. He does.”

“Hold on.” She replaces her hand over the mouthpiece of the phone. “Vegeta? _Goku_ needs to answer me.”

I roll my eyes, and motion to our surroundings. “He just did. He wants everything.” 

She gives me a dirty look, but Kakarot nods and she goes back to her conversation with what I presume is one of her many lawyers. My daughter shakes her head at us and heads inside, presumably to pester her brother and Kakarot's brat.

“Thanks, Vegeta.” He is smiling at me, arms crossed over his chest. “I don't want to take custody from Chi-chi, but Goten's only fifteen and she's been talking about sending him away for school.”

“Of this I am aware.” I turn and lean back against his side. “Sweet _Cosmos_ is this uncomfortable.”

Kakarot's laugh carries throughout the courtyard. He puts his hands over his mouth, looks at me, and only laughs harder. 

I shift more to my back to avoid a dull ache in my side, and allow myself a small smile at his antics.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Epic foreshadowing, biatch.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a long while (over a year) since my last update. A lot's been going on - I've not abandoned ANY of my stories, so no worries there! :) 
> 
> I actually need glasses. You know, extreme migraines, everything's fuzzy, shit like that. And it's been stupidly difficult to get an appointment with somebody who will help. Gotta love government health care. /sarcasm
> 
> So bear with me as each thing I write costs more than is worth it most of the time.

My sleep is fitful, yet again. I wake suddenly, alert to even the slightest noise. I look around the room and see nothing. I close my eyes and listen to the sounds of the wash downstairs; something that has rarely woken me since I first moved here. I sigh and roll over, flinching at the ever-present dull ache in my side.

It seems as though I have had trouble sleeping nearly every night this week. Initially, I believed that to be the cause of my difficulty with training... the fatigue I have been experiencing would be a good explanation. Provided that is what is responsible.

However, as I lay in the darkness of my room, listening to my wife arguing with our son - as it is nearly every morning - I can feel my heart pounding, and the room seems much too small. Yet again, something I have not experienced since I first arrived.

A growl escapes my throat as I give up on sleeping and get out of bed. I opt for a shower, as at least it is quieter there with the water thumping down on every surface. I suddenly miss the rain, and wish it was not the middle of the draught season.

As I turn on the tap and wait for the correct temperature, there it is again. That odd ache in my side. It is not painful, but it is becoming troublesome, and I decide at that moment to find out what it is, if possible.

I have never been truly ill beyond the simple dis-ease or discomfort that affects all Saiyans from time to time, with the exception a fever in my childhood. I am keenly aware that should something be wrong, there is little that can be done, aside from the dragon balls... and that is something I do not want to consider.

I take my time in the shower, a painful throbbing beginning behind my eyes as my eldest slams the door to his room down the hall. My wife starts banging on said door and I rest my head against the wall and listen as Kakarot tries to get her to calm down.

"Like that has ever worked," I murmur to the off-white tile.

I am unaware of what I will wear that day, but as I finish my shower, I decide to go for comfort more than practicality. I figure I will go down to the lab and see if Bulma's scanning machine - I cannot recall the name if she ever told me - will reveal anything. If it does not, then I will have to seek out the little Namekian. At least he will be discreet, if nothing else.

I decide on a simple pair of grey sweatpants and a navy sweater. Not my favorite, but they certainly are non-restrictive. It occurs to me, as I am slipping them on, that the weather might draw attention to my choice in covering. However, I do not care. I never did before, so why start now?

It is a rather cloudy, dull morning, as I pass by the large, all-glass doors along the hall leading to the kitchen. _Perhaps it will rain after all,_ I think. I see Kakarot outside with Bulma. It seems he is trying to distract her from whatever happened this morning. _Better him than me._

As I arrive in the kitchen, I notice the crack in the wall above a fist-sized dent near the dining table. I resolve to deal with it later. If Kakarot is involved, it is safe to assume it is a teen-age thing and not something serious.

I make my way to the fridge, and get one of the quart jars of some kind of herbal tea blend that showed up in there yesterday off of my shelf. My youngest enjoys making them, and I find them less harsh tasting than whatever else is usually around here, so I figure I can grab one without it being missed. She often uses whatever space is left in the fridge for her extra blends. As I rarely use it, my shelf is what gets used up.

I grab a chair and sit down at the counter - I will not trust that table, not with that crack so near to it. Who knows if he smacked it, too? The last thing I need right now is another mess to clean up. That blasted cat already got into my clean socks the other day!

"Hey, 'Geta." I watch Kakarot stroll in and lean against the cupboards in front of me, on the other side of the counter. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Trying to wake up more naturally than screaming housemates usually permits."

"Yeah..." He makes a face and looks down at the floor. "Sorry 'bout that. Trunks is going through something, and he's never been that considerate to begin with, so..."

"Of that I am aware, Kakarot." I take a sip of my daughter's tea, noting that it is less bitter than her last one. "I am going to be in the woman's lab this morning. Do you think you can distract her long enough for me to use that scan machine of hers?"

"Oh sure. Yeah. I need her to help me with something for Goten's school anyway." I wait for the question, knowing it will come, "What do you need her lab for?"

"One of her machines, as I said."

"Well, duh. I heard you," he looks at me as though I am being unfair. "It's just that's her medical stuff, 'Geta. Are you sick?" He pushes off from the cupboard and leans down on the counter in front of me. "Are you okay?" His voice is soft, worried.

"Have you not noticed a distinct lack of training, Kakarot?"

He shrugs, "I thought you were just taking a break."

"We haven't sparred in over a month."

"Well, yeah. But we do other stuff." There is a rather obvious, lecherous grin now, and I roll my eyes.

"I've been too tired to train, Kakarot." I reach out toward him and he takes my hand.

"What do you mean?" Kakarot starts rubbing little circles into my palm. It tickles, and my fingers twitch with the sensation. He smiles and pulls my hand up to kiss my knuckles. I feel his warm breath on my hand as he sighs.

"I'm..." He looks up at me, worry in his eyes. "I'm just not sleeping enough." I do not know what to tell him. I do not even know what to tell myself.

"Oh." Kakarot places my hand on the counter and backs away, crossing his arms. "I'm keeping you up, huh?"

I do not hesitate. "No."

"You sure?" He looks so innocent standing there with this hurt expression on his face.

"Yes. I wake often through the night or early in the morning and I'm unable to fall back to sleep."

"Sounds like insomnia, Vegeta," I hear my wife's voice say from the hall. When she enters the kitchen she gives Kakarot a small smile and reaches behind him to get something from the cupboard. "You ever have it before?"

"Not like this."

"How is this different?" She pulls up another chair and places it at the end of the counter, giving a dirty look to the wall by the table.

"For one thing, I wasn't so sensitive to sound. For another, it didn't affect my training or energy levels."

"So you've not been training as often? Then what do you do in the gravity chamber all day? Read? Whistle a tune?" She smirks.

"I sleep, Woman." I get up from my seat and turn back toward her. "And keep your son quiet. I can hear him in there, too." I intend to walk away before she can say anything, but the sudden, sharp pain in my abdomen relieves me of the chance. I gasp, and grab the counter. I am vaguely aware of the way the marble shatters and the sounds of both my wife and Kakarot seem muffled as they try to understand what is happening.

I cannot help them, as the world suddenly goes dark.

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This moment brought to you by Two Years In The Making™!

It must be some time in the evening when I wake, as the nights here are rather cool despite the summer heat. I open my eyes and there is Kakarot, napping in a chair next to the bed I am in.

I look down, and notice an IV in my left arm, and the _beeping_ of a heart monitor nearby. _I guess it was more serious than I thought,_ I think dismally.

I take stock of how I am feeling. There is no pain, anywhere, at all. That is strange, but I assume it is due to the IV. It is possible some amount of Earth-based drugs will work on me, but I doubt for long. I notice an air conditioner in the window that was not there before, and that explains the "new plastic" smell. It still has it's protective stickers over the buttons.

I reassess that it may not be nighttime after all, but I cannot see past the curtains or the wall unit. The curtains look to be the same kind as the ones in my room that block out all light. There is a TV on a stand in front of me at the foot of the bed, plugged in, but turned off. I see a few bottles of pills sitting on the stand. Some are laying on their sides, and a few others are open with pills laying on the surface of the stand.

"You feeling okay?" Kakarot whispers, and I turn toward him. He looks worried, more so than usual. I do not like that look on him. He should be happy, even for no reason at all.

"What happened, Kakarot?" My voice is hoarse, which confuses me.

"You passed out. Bulma said your heart stopped beating for a while, and after she and her dad set you up in here, she went to make some calls to see if any of her smart friends can help her find out what's wrong," he shrugs.

I frown in confusion. "Explain."

"You were unconscious for a long time," Kakarot is distressed, "But then you woke up for a while and you were screaming and holding your side. I went to get help, but Bulma said there was some blood on the sheets upstairs and to not leave you alone down here. Then she left. She won't tell me anything else. And you smell different." He goes to say something more, but Bulma walks swiftly into the room, clipboard in hand.

"Oh, thank goodness! Goku, sweetie, can you go upstairs and get some sodas for all of us?" She smiles at Kakarot, and at my nod, he does as asked.

"What is going on?"

"Nothing serious, I can tell you that. It's probably not something you want everyone to hear, least of all Goku at the moment, so I thought I'd just spit it out to save us all the stress." She pulls up another chair opposite of the one Kakarot was sitting in, to my right. "Do you remember when I first finished the prototype of my S-Scan? How I had each full-blood Saiyan, and all the half-Saiyans scanned to compare all of you?"

I nod, wondering where she is going with this.

"Well, you had something different in your scan, something no one else I scanned had up until that point. I thought at the time that it was maybe some sort of vestigial organ. Unlike an appendix, for example, which does serve a purpose in infancy..."

"You said you'd spit it out. I am not seeing nor hearing the spitting," I grouse.

She sighs in frustration. "I'm getting to it! As I was saying, I first thought it was just something extra that didn't mean anything, but after Bra was born and I scanned her, I noticed she had one, too. It was so small and hidden behind her uterus, that I'd nearly missed it. At that point I decided that it did, in fact have to mean something. I scanned her again at puberty, and noticed it was shrinking. My last scans of our daughter showed that while it is still there, it's pretty small and I don't think her body will be using it for anything in the future." She takes a breath, "I scanned you while you were out cold, and I think yours is inflamed. Whatever the organ is, yours is clearly not functioning properly. I figure I can have one of my colleagues who is an actual medical professional come and perform the surgery..."

A cold weight settles into my stomach at her words, and I feel the blood drain from my face. It is suddenly quite difficult to take a breath, and the machine next to me begins to _beep_ faster than before.

"I'm hoping there are sedatives that work for Saiyans! If not, Goku can get the dragon balls." She stops and it seems she finally notices something is not right with me. "What is it, Vegeta?"

"Did you run any blood tests?" My voice sounds small, and everything feels like it is not real. I think of the blood on the sheets. The pain I have had for nearly a month now. The fatigue. Kakarot. My _different_ scent. I am finding it increasingly difficult to breathe, but I decide to push though it.

"Well, not on _you,_ no."

"On Eschalot?"

"Well, of course, but-"

"On yourself?"

"Why would I-? Vegeta?" She sounds nervous, afraid, suddenly accusing.

I frown at the heart monitor with it's incessant _beeping._ I reach over and rip the cord out of the wall. She makes a face as the cord snaps at the plug instead.

"You will _not_ be cutting me open, Woman! Take one of your damned needles and run a blood test on me! Look for the blasted Rh negative whatever you were freaking out about during your pregnancies, and you'll-"

She stands up suddenly, clipboard clattering to the floor. She slams her hands over her mouth. "Oh my God," she breathes.

I glare at her, and she flinches. She quickly runs into the main part of the lab to grab the thing she puts all of the stuff in that she always uses to run scans and take blood samples. Her "medkit."

She comes back into the room and sits down. I watch as she rolls up my sleeve and sticks one of the needles in my arm. I close my eyes as she draws the blood. I can hear her heavy breathing, though strangely, mine has calmed.

I feel the pressure of her fingers as she pulls back the tape and then wraps it around my elbow to catch the bleeding. I listen as she leaves the room and tells Kakarot to bring me the soda.

I hear him enter the room and sit down in the chair she vacated. I feel his fingers brush through my hair. He puts the soda down and kisses my arm on the tape. I wait for him to say something, anything at all, but he is silent.

I wonder how much he heard while I am feeling slightly insane and as though I am living in a nightmare I dearly want to wake from. I focus on the sensation of Kakarot's fingers in my hair to the absence of everything else.

After a while, the sound of the air conditioner makes it through the blind fog of panic, and I feel a cool cloth on my forehead. I open my eyes to see Kakarot looking down at me.

"How much did you hear?" I am afraid of his answer, and afraid of being afraid.

He shrugs, "Not much, really. Just something about needles and blood tests. When I saw Bulma with the needle I stayed in the hall." He smiles and runs his fingers through my hair again.

 _That's right, he's afraid of needles,_ I remember. "Weren't you worried about me?" I smirk at him.

He shakes his head, "Nah. You're brave. You aren't scared of needles like I am."

I reach up toward him with my right arm, and he grasps my hand, still smiling. Always smiling.

I hear Bulma enter the room, but I do not look away from Kakarot's face. He turns to face her, though, his hands staying where they are.

"I ran the test for Rh negative blood, with Saiyan ion anti-bodies," her voice is shaking. "It's positive."

Kakarot looks confused, and I close my eyes and sigh, tightening my grip on his hand.

"What does that mean, Bulma?"

I answer for her, staring at the back of his head. "It means I'm with child, Kakarot," at the same time she says, "It means I'm a blind fool, is what it means."

He turns to look at me, a strange gleam in his eyes, then turns back to my wife. "But that's good news!" I feel my heart move in my chest.

But she only shakes her head. "All Saiyans and people with Saiyan blood have an Rh negative blood type. Everybody who carries a baby with a Saiyan father of any kind has what I've named Saiyan ion + or - anti-bodies. Since Vegeta has tested positive for Saiyan ion, it means the father is a full-blood Saiyan. You're the only one that fits that description, Goku." She takes a deep breath. "It also means we need to get Dende, because having Saiyan ion + means your body's rejecting the baby, and it's going kill the both of you unless the fetus is removed, or something else is done about it, Vegeta."

Kakarot stands up, squeezes my hand and says, "I'll go get him right now." He is gone by the time Bulma takes her next breath.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Her voice is barely above a whisper. "I'm your wife, Vegeta. Why didn't you tell me you were sleeping with..."

"It was only the one time, Bulma."

"And you expect me to believe that, given the way he always looks at you? Seriously?"

I shake my head. "We only had intercourse the one time. I didn't mean-"

"Okay. Stop." She holds out her hands in a defensive gesture, but I ignore it.

"I didn't mean to allow him this," I motion to my own body. "I never intended to grant him that."

"'Grant him that'? What?" She sits down.

"My submission. It was," I close my eyes. "It was an act of weakness on my part. I was alone and I believed he had something that I required, and thus I permitted his actions."

"Speak English, Vegeta," her voice is hard.

I sigh and open my eyes. She at least deserves that I look her in the eye when I tell her. "Kakarot is the stronger of us. It is his right to take what he wants from me."

"And that translates to your body, _how?"_ She looks nervous, and I can guess at why. At what she assumes I am saying.

"It doesn't. This wasn't about lust, or power." I sigh, knowing she will not understand that it was not about my body, as that is not what I intended to give. Nor what I needed to. I am not certain my own people would understand.

Kakarot is standing in the doorway. "Dende said he'll be here in a bit. He has to harvest some ingredients first." I nod, and he smiles at me, a bit sadly. "Bulma? Can you give us a minute?"

"Not until you answer me one question, Goku." She turns to face him. "Tell me why you did this, okay? I just need to know why the two of you did this? Vegeta said it isn't about lust, or power, or whatever... So just..." she shrugs.

"We did it. Isn't that what matters?" His voice is hard, unrelenting, and I can tell by her expression she knows she will not get the answer she seeks. As free as Kakarot is with his emotions, this is one thing we share that he will not simply give away to those not involved. It is the only thing I asked of him - that it remain between us.

Though now, I suppose that is folly in some sense. After all, how can a child be kept solely between us? I had not even known I was one of the Few. It would not have been discovered until I reached the age of majority, and with Freeza... I never found out.

"Fine," Bulma sighs. "I'll just... I'm going upstairs for a while, okay? Let me know when Dende gets here and I'll see if he needs any help with anything." She rises from the chair, walks around the bed, pulls what is left of the heart monitor's plug from the wall, and walks out past Kakarot. I can hear her glumly say, "This is gonna go over just great at the reunion next week. Yay."

Kakarot moves away from the open doorway and sits in the chair he vacated earlier. "So. A baby, huh?" He has a massive grin on his face. Of course he does.

"So it would seem."

"Huh. I guess we won't be the last two Saiyans anymore, will we?" He scratches the back of his head, a serious look belying his thoughts.

"It does, assuming it lives."

"It will, Vegeta. I know it will." He reaches over and takes my right hand in both of his slightly larger ones.

"I am one of the Few, Kakarot. It will only be one child. This is the only chance we have."

He nods and kisses the back of my hand. "Okay."

 


	6. Chapter 6

The TV is on in the background as I read one of the books on human infants that Kakarot brought me. Naturally, I know what is in the books already, having read a few of them before Eschalot was born, but I appreciate the sentiment. My grasp of the language used has much improved since my first foray into that very human of customs, and I rarely find myself needing a dictionary or thesaurus these days to get through all of the words.

The book I am leafing through right now is old and worn, with many of the pages dog-eared and illegible notes scribbled in the margins.

I rub at my temples and decide to take a break for a while. The potion Dende has given me to take for the next few days makes it difficult to focus my eyes on any one thing for long. I close my eyes and wonder when I will be able to get out of this bed and return to my life, whatever that will be now.

I hear a knock at the door shortly before it opens, and my daughter, Eschalot, walks in, carrying a duffel and a bottle of water. She tosses the water and I catch it.

"Hey, Dad. I was wondering if you'd like to get out of this room," she says with a smile. Walking toward one of the chairs in front of the TV, she picks up my clothing there, and stuffs it in the duffel she brought with her.

"Am I 'allowed' to get out of bed?" I ask her, smirking as she rolls her eyes.

"Obviously not, but I knew you'd be going stir-crazy soon, and I'm dying to know why you're in here in the first place."

I take a sip of the water she brought me, and sigh. "I will tell you if you can sneak me out."

"Sweet," she says. Once she has gathered all of my things, including the remainder of my potions, she motions for me to follow her through the door.

I am careful as I pull back the covers and rise from the bed. I have not felt any more pain since before I blacked out, but I want to be gentle with the life growing inside of me.

I follow my daughter through the halls of the lab, passing by Dr. Briefs as we go. He merely looks up at our passing and quickly goes back to whatever he was doing before we disturbed him. He always seems to take everything in stride, no matter what it is.

"The elevator is busted. Can you make it up the stairs?" Eschalot looks as though the question pains her.

"Hmph," I reply, and begin to rise up off the floor about three inches. "Obviously," I say dryly.

She looks embarrassed. "Well, not my fault for asking."

After we make it past the four flights of stairs leading from the innermost part of the lab, Eschalot opens the large metal doors to the outer courtyard.

"So," she sighs and gently lets the duffel drop to the warm, dry grass next to her. "What's going on, and why has Mom locked herself in her room and not answering any calls?"

"It would require a lesson in Saiyan history and biology to fully explain." I spend a moment looking around and taking in the feel of the sun on my skin before continuing. "And an understanding of the human female I do not possess."

She laughs, a hearty, twinkling sound. "You'd think I'd have some insight into that last bit. I don't. I wish I knew more about Saiyans, too."

I sigh and turn toward her. "As do I. I have not shared nearly enough with you or your brother. This circumstance is something I only know of because of my education as a member of the royal family. Even then, it is incredibly limited."

Her expression turns serious, "Then tell me what you _do_ know, Dad."

I wrap my arms around my middle, as though that will bring me some measure of certainty. Then I take a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I am with child."

My daughter's eyes widen, a quiet sound of surprise leaving her lips. "You're not messing with me?"

At my expression, she sighs and takes a few steps around the courtyard.

"The Saiyan race is not like humans. Obviously inter-breeding is possible, and there are a few specific similarities." I stare at the ground, wondering exactly how to explain this to a child I have sired, who is half of a race that is prejudiced in it's ignorance of many things.

"So you're an hermaphrodite," she nods, gesturing to the garden all around us. "Is Goku-?"

"No. On both accounts." I pause briefly. "Well, I suppose the answer is closer to yes. For the first assumption. But that isn't what it was called. There are four physical sexes in Saiyan biology. _Mahyin,_ which is like the human male. _Fahyin,_ the female. Then there are _Nahyin,_ and _tahyin._ Nahyin appear as male on the outside, but possess a secondary organ of reproduction internally; same with tahyin. Only tahyin appear female and possess two wombs rather than one."

"Oh. Wow. Okay." I watch as she drags both hands through her hair. "Um. So you're this 'nahyin' thing, then?"

I nod, "Yes, and if what your mother told me about your medical scans is correct, you are tahyin."

"She never said-"

I scoff, "Of course she didn't."

"Dad. There was probably a good reason, right? I mean, Mom wouldn't keep something this important a secret," she has always trusted in her mother.

I shrug. "She didn't know what it was, and I wasn't made aware of the results of either of our scans." I will let her keep the trust I never had. Perhaps it will be enough. "Had I known, this never would have happened, and I would have explained to you what you are as best I could in order for you make your own choice."

"What do you mean?"

"As tahyin, your secondary womb will remain dormant until you carry a child to term with your primary. Then you will enter a sort of heat, and gain the ability to produce many children with little refractory period. It is a most unpleasant experience. One that I would spare you from. It is wrong that I was not notified of the presence of the two wombs." I shake my head, disappointed that the one time Bulma's obsessive curiosity was wasted on something, it had to be at the cost of something so important.

"Is that why I don't have periods? Mom always said it was probably a Saiyan thing."

I nod. "Saiyans do not have a monthly bleed, but there is a yearly one. Surely you have experienced that?"

"I've had to wear a pad for about two days out of a year since I was seven. It's never been very noticeable though. Since Dende told me it wasn't a sign of sickness when I asked him, I never told her." She hesitates and makes a sour face, "Do you bleed, Dad?"

"Only once, when I was seventeen summers. I thought nothing of it at the time. Perhaps I should have." I shake my head and walk over to a nearby Elm to sit down upon the grass. "I'm afraid I don't know much about the experiences of nahyin. I never had the chance to learn."

"Because of Freeza?" Eschalot's voice is soft, careful. We do not speak of my time with the monster, but she has likely gleaned what she does know from others.

I smile sadly and tell her, "Had I been permitted to grow among my people, it would have been discovered at puberty. I would have gone to live with a community of nahyin until I learned of their ways. Then, simply, I would have returned to the palace and made my choice of whether I would solely sire children, or sire and carry both."

"Is there a heat for them, too?" She looks as though she really does not care for the answer, but she approaches the tree and sits to the left of me anyway.

"Yes, though it isn't overwhelming and irrepressible as it is for the tahyin."

"Why?" She asks eagerly, the look of discomfort suddenly gone as her curiosity wins out.

"For the nahyin it is an act of true submission. I have come to realise that it is perhaps a spiritual experience governed by instinct."

"'Spiritual'?"

"A true act of submission will leave one changed in ways they do not expect."

She looks as though she wishes to ask another question, but the doors to the lab suddenly bang open and she startles instead.

It is Kakarot, who is jogging over to me with that ever-present grin of his plastered on his face. "Vegeta! There you are! Bulma's dad said you were out here."

"Is he the-?" Eschalot leans toward me, and I nod. "Oh wow," she leans back against the tree and shakes her head back and forth. "Don't know why I'm surprised, but I am." When I look over, she is grinning in Kakarot's direction. "Hey, Goku! I guess congratulations are in order, huh?"

He stops mid-stride, startled. "You told her?"

"She's a smart one, Kakarot, and besides - she asked," I shrug and he copies the gesture.

"Uh, thanks, Bra. It wasn't planned," he laughs and scratches his head. I watch as his fingers get caught in his hair and he tugs them free.

I motion him over. "Sit," I order. He does as told, facing away from me, and I begin combing my fingers through his hair. Eschalot is still grinning; only wider now.

"I swear to Cosmos there must be something wrong with me to have not seen this coming. I mean, really. Dad, Goku, how the hell is Mom so upset?"

Kakarot only shrugs and picks at the grass in front of him, either uncaring or lost in thought, I cannot tell. After a while, he must have his thoughts sorted, as he takes a deep breath and speaks.

"Well, your mom and I have known each other a long time, and I think she just figured this was a normal thing for us to be doing. 'Cause we're Saiyans. I guess she never thought there were other things we could be doing instead." He shrugs again and sighs. "I'm sorry she's upset," he looks at my daughter, "But I'm not sorry it happened. I love your dad. I always have, I think. Maybe. Probably since we first met. I don't know. Back then things were really confusing for me."

Kakarot plucks a nearby bundle of Golden Marguerite flowers from the yard and pauses to look at them for a moment. He then makes a half-turn to his left, facing Eschalot again briefly, before passing them to me. He keeps his face away from my gaze. I look from what little I can see of his face to his outstretched hand, then back to his face. His eyes are now closed.

I silently take the flowers from him and he sighs, turning the other way again. I move my free hand back to his hair to try and get at one of the more stubborn knots.

"This would be much easier if you would just use a brush," I say to his back. I smile as Eschalot laughs.

"So, what happens now, you guys?" She sits up straighter, brows raised in question.

Kakarot tilts his head back. "I dunno. What do _you_ think, 'Geta?"

I do not answer for a long time, choosing instead to focus on finally tearing the stubborn knot in his hair free. He flinches as some of the thicker under-fur comes away with my fingers once I am finished. I shake it off onto the grass and reach over to rub at his scalp.

"A nahyin is only able to carry one child. This is the only way to create another pure Saiyan," I say quietly.

"Yeah, but it's still your choice, isn't it?" Kakarot turns now to face me. "I mean, you told me your ki's gonna drop low enough to be noticeable to just about every one of our friends. You might be able to hide the bump for a while until everything's figured out, but what if it's a difficult pregnancy? You said so yourself that if you keep it, your ki might never rise again to the level it was at your strongest."

"Does it matter? I have a duty as a-" I begin, but I am interrupted.

"No you _don't_!" Kakarot grasps my hands, the flowers crushed between our fingers. "You're _free,_ remember? That's what we agreed on. You _promised_ me."

I look down at our clasped hands in frustration. "Yes, I... I did promise." I glance at my daughter, and she looks nervous. I attempt a small smile, but I know I failed to put her at ease. How could I expect to when _I_ have been ill-at-ease ever since I found out? She reaches over and touches my arm.

"Dad? Will having the baby hurt you? Like, could you die if you have it?" I shake my head. "Then I'll help. If something happens where you become weaker... if it's too much, then I'll train with Goku. I'll even help with the baby!" She is grinning now, and so is Kakarot. "You like babies, don't you, Goku?" At his nod, she nods as well. "Then it's settled. Whatever you decide to do, I'll be here to help you both with it." My daughter graces me with a quick side-hug, then hurriedly jumps to her feet. "I'm gonna see if Mom kept our old baby clothes, just in case." She winks, and then she is gone, leaving me alone with Kakarot.

"So, uh," ever unable to bear sudden silences, Kakarot says, "Do you _want_ to keep it?"

"As _I_ said, 'does it matter'?" I glare at him. "There hasn't been a pure blood Saiyan born in what, 36 years? Assuming that really is how old you are." He shrugs. Age has never bothered him, though I am twice his, at least. "I do have a responsibility, Kakarot." He goes to speak, but I cut him off. "Whether to our race or not, at least to this child. I will not be a murderer of my own flesh and blood. That is the end of it."

I rise from the ground, slightly dizzy for the speed of it, and Kakarot rises with me. I hold out my hand to him, watching as joy spreads across his features. He smiles as he takes my hand.

 _I could have done worse than him,_ I think. _A lot worse._


End file.
